Compressed-air locomotive-carriage.



No. 673,978. Patented. May 14, l90l. J. T. F. 0mm.

COMPRESSED AIR LOCOHUTIVE CARRIAGE.

(Application filed Sept. 9, 1896.)

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No. 673,978. Patented May l4, l90l.

J. T. F. CONTI.

COMPRESSED MR LOCOMOTIVE CARRIAGE.

(Application filed Sept. 9, 1895.)

(No Model.)

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Patented May l4, l90i.

J. T. F. 'CDNTI. GDM PBESSED AIR LOCOMOTIVECARRIAGE.

(Application filed Sept. 9, 1895.)

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No. 673,978. Patented May l4, mm.

J. T. F. CONTI.

COMPRESSED AIR LODOMD TIVE CARRIAGE.

(Application filed Sept. 9, 1895.! I

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Nrrnn STATES it ATENT OFFICE.

JAMES TIBURCE FELIX OONTI, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

COMPRESSED-AIR LOCOMOTlVE-CARRIAG E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 673,978, dated May 14, 1901.

Application filed September 9, 1895. Serial No. 561,909.

To (tZZ whont it may concern;

Be it known that 1, JAMES TIBUROE FELIX OONTI, of the city of Paris, France, have invented Improvements in Oompressed-Ai r Locomotive-Carriages, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a compressed-air locomotive-carriage specially arranged with a view to simplicity, compactness, and the utilization of compressed air in the most efficient manner.

This invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The engine, which is carried upon a framing of suitable construction, comprises two cylinders of different diameters forcompound working, but capable of simple working when increased power isrequired,in which case the system of distribution forming the subject'of previous Letters Patent, No. 554,111, dated February 4, 1896, grant-ed to me may be employed. Reversingis effected by admitting compressed air to one or other side of a small auxiliary piston which actuates the slide-valves. The compressed air is preferably heated before it enters each of the cylinders by means of small heaters having a large surface heated by a separate furnace under forced draft of air injected from the exhaust. The admission of compressed air is regulated so as to obtain any desired speed of the driving-pistons at all times by means of a Meyer expansion-gear in order that the compressed air may do its work in the most efficient manner. The compressed-air reservoirs are charged at certain points of the journey by means of my improved an tomatic feed apparatus forming the subject of a former patent, No. 531,511, granted to me December 25, 1894:.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the framing which carries the engines. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the compressed-air distribution to the various parts. Fig. 3 is a plan view, partly in section, of the engine system in position upon the carriage.

The same characters of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

A suitable engine-frame a of the under carriage carries the engines and other parts of (No model.)

the mechanism, and a second frame I) carries the body of the vehicle and the compressedair reservoirs hung from the under side of the floor. The engines are carried by a single frame c,carrying the cross-head guides at d,oue end of the frame being supported by two bearings upon the axle 6 (see Fig. l) and the other upon a spring f on the frame a. or directly upon the said frame. Upon axle e is keyed a toothed wheel g, driven by a pinion g, keyed on the crank-shaft h, turning in bearings '5, carried by frame a, and having two cranks w at ninety degrees operated by the two pistons. The speed of the engines with regard to the vehicle-wheels therefore depends upon the ratio of the gear g g, which is inclosed in a dust-tight casing, and may run in a bath of oil.

The cylinders is Z are of different diameters to admit of compound working by the smaller cylinder exhausting into the larger cylinder. When, however, extra power is required or in case the small piston be at the dead-point at starting, the pressure may be admitted directly to both cylinders by a special arrangement of cocks.

The compressed air is supplied to the reservoirs m by means of the self-acting feed apparatus forming the subject of a previous patent, No. 531,511, granted to me on the 25th day of December, 1894. The compressed air before ad mission to the cylinders is heated by passing through the heaters 0 0 of suitable construction. The furnace-gases after having traversed each of the heaters 0' 0 are expelled by means of a forced draft produced by the exhaust-air from the engines, for which purpose the exhaust from each of the cylinders after being expanded is conducted through a suitable pipe into a pipe of the last heater 0 which receives the furnace-gases. The gases are thus discharged continuously into the atmosphere, since the exhaust-air is also continually escaping, owing to its expansion in the chamber, thus preventing shocks and reducing the velocity of the escaping air. When the engines are not working, a draft of air is obtained by a jet of compressed air supplied bysuitable means. The distribution of compressed air to the various parts is effected by the following means:

In Fig. 2,A is a vertical shaft operated from a hand-wheel shaft A on the drivers platform through an endless chain. Upon shaft admission and opens the pipe 0 to the air.

A are keyed two toothed sectors S S and a cam K, all the different adjustments being performed during a complete turn of shaft A. The sector S, by which through the pinions pp p 17 p the Meyer ex pansion-valve of the high-pressure cylinder is adjusted, requires only half a turn to shift the expansion-valve from one extreme to the other, leaving twofourths of a revolution, of which one is required by the cam K to operate the brakes and the other by the sector S for changing from compound to direct working, as follows: When on shaft A being rotated in the direction of the arrow F the last tooth of sector S escapes from pinion p, the first tooth of sec- ,pipe 0, and consequently space M behind the piston P, is open to the air through ,port 0. Theslide-valve T will thus be held toward the right by the difierence of pressure on the pistons P P of unequal area. This position corresponds to compound working, the

exhaust from small cylinder It passing by pipe E to the slide-valve T and thence by pipe I through the reheater o to the valvechest of the large cylinder 1.

When slide-valve T is shifted by the sector S it first cuts oif communication of pipe 0 with the air and then gradually uncovers the orifice of the pipe to allow compressed air admitted at C to pass directly thereto and thence through pipe 0 to the space M behind the piston P. The effect of the pressure is to suddenly shift the slide-valve T over to the left-hand position. In this position the pipe 0 communicates with I, and the exhaust-pipe E from the small cylinder communicates with E leading to the exhaustchamber, through which the small cylinder is exhausts to the open air at the same time that the direct air-pressure admitted by valve T passes through I and reheater o to the valve-chest of the large cylinder Z. The upper end of the pipe 0 may be of triangular form, so that each position of the slide-valve T corresponds to a different area of admission to the large cylinder. Thus it will be seen that the farther the sector S moves in the direction of the arrow F the greater the admission to the large cylinder. In otherwords, the driver after having changed the working from compound to direct still has under control the admission to the large cylinder,which he can vary at will. When the crank-pin B reaches the end of its course, the sector S meets a stop, which limits the rotation of the hand wheel. By turning the hand wheel shaft A and consequently the shaft A, in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow the opposite efiects are producedthat is to say, the crank-pin B returning to the position shown the valve T cuts off direct The valve T being no longer under the action of pressure within chamber M is caused to suddenly assume the position shown by reason of the difference of area of the pistons P P When by the continued motion of the shaft A in this direction the sector S quits the pinion p, the lugs which regulate the cut-off are at their maximum distance apart, so that the valve-chest is closed against any admis- 'sion whatever either to the small or large cylinder. By still continuing to turn the hand-wheel in this direction the cam K acts on friction-roller G of the lever L, and thus actuates the brake regulator 41, whereby pressure is admitted to the brake-cylinders gradually and under the control of the handwheel. It will be understood that the cam K, sectors S and S and the parts which 00- operate with each of these elements are on different horizontal planes in order not to interfere with the action of one another. It will thus be seen that the whole of the mechanism can be controlled by the one shaft A, since during its passage from one extreme position to the other the following operations are performed in succession:

By turning the hand-wheel in the direction of the arrow F, first, the cam K quits the friction-roller G, thus releasing the brakes; second, the sector S engages the pinion 1), thus gradually opening the ad mission of air to the small'cylinder by acting on the lugs of the expansion-valve, the Working being compound, and, third, the admission to the small cylinder being completely open the sector S engages the pinion 19 whereupon the working is suddenly changed to direct, and while the admission to the small cylinder remains open that to the large cylinder is opened gradually. Complete control is thus obtained, it being understood that by turning the shaft in the oppositedirection the same efiects are produced in the inverse order. 7

For greater safety and to enable a sudden stoppage in case the chain or other part of the gear from the hand-wheel should fail a safety apparatus N is provided, which is controlled bya small cock R, placed within reach of the driver, whereby to enable the communication of the cylinders with the compressedair supply to be suddenly cut off. It con sists of a cylinder containing piston P on the stem of a valve 0 held to its seat 0 in the position shown by pressure behind the piston P admitted by the pipe 0 The seat 0 is movable and also acts as a valve, closing against a seat as soon as the valve 0 quits it.

In the position represented in Fig. 2 of the drawings the piston P receives equal pressure on both sidesthat is to say, the lefthand face receives direct the action of the compressed air in pipe 0 and the right-hand face is also in communication with the latter through the pipe G of cock R and pipe 0 the compressed air arriving by pipe C thus passing through pipes O and O", which conovercome and parts P O C will move together to the right, the valve 0 closing against its seat S and shutting ofi all communication between the compressed-air inlet 0 and pipes C and C The pressure still remaining in the pipes continues to move piston P toward the right, and valve 0 is thus raised off 0 which forms its seat, so that the compressed air contained in pipes O U will escape through the guide of valve O into the pipe G which leads to the exhaust. Both cylinders will in this manner be put in communication with the atmosphere. If cock R be returned to its initial position, Fig. 2, comm unication between the two pipes O 0 will be reestablished and the right-hand face of piston P will receive the action of the compressed air supplied by pipe 0, and owing to the difference in the areas of the surfaces acted on by the compressed air the parts 0 G and piston P will move to the left to their initial position, Fig. 2, and communication will thus be reestablished between admission-pipe O and pipes O and 0 Thus by turning cock R through forty-five degrees in the direction of the arrow both the cylinders are suddenly opened to the air, and by turning it through another forty-five degrees the pipe 0 remains open to the air, the pipe (3 is connected with C and pressure-is then admitted to the pipe to actuate the brakes, which are thereupon applied.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1S

1. In the system for com pressed-air locomotive-carriages herein speci fied,having two cylinders adapted for working either compound or at the same pressure in both cylinders, the

'means of controlling the working whereby a single hand-wheel shaft A is adapted to control the brakes, the variable cut-off to the high-pressure cylinder for compound working, the change from compound to simple working, and the progressive and variable admission of high pressure to the large cylinder; said shaft A having keyed thereon a cam K acting on the lever L of brake-regulator; a toothed sector S engaging a pinion 19 for actuating the variable-expansion valve of high-pressure cylinder; and a toothed sector S engaging a pinion p which operates a slidevalve T for changing from compound to simple working and controlling the admission to the low-pressure cylinder, as described with reference to the drawings.

2. In a com pressed-air locomotive-carriage, the combination of high and low pressure cylinders adapted to work compound or direct, at will, the safety device N, connections between said cylinders and the safety device, a cock R under the control of the driver, said cock being adapted to operate said safety device to permit of suddenly cutting off the connection of the compressed-fluid supply with the engine-cylinders and to establish communication between said cylinders and the atmosphere and to reestablish the normal communications of said cylinder,whereby the carriage may he suddenly stopped and again started by the cock R.

3. In a com pressed-air locomotive-carriage, the combination of two cylinders, means for supplying compressed air to said cylinders, a single band wheel for controlling such means and means controlled by said handwheel to work said cylinders compound or direct at will and to control the brakes.

The foregoing specification of my improvements in compressed-air locomotive-carriages signed by me this 24th day of August, 1895.

JAMES TIBURCE l EhlX GONTI. 

